Friday 24 August 2012

More Pale Footmen

This is the one I had back in 2005 and published in the GMRG newsletter as the third county record for Hoary Footman, later withdrawn after I dissected it. I don't catch enough Scarce Footman (or indeed Hoary) to be able to ID them on gis, and I wouldn't be confident in determining them from a photo - I couldn't say for certain what mine was until I got up close and personal. But that is just me!
I seem to recall Colin Plant telling me that males of the two species can be determined without dissection as part of the genitalia obviously sticks out in one of the two species, but I can't remember the detail.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks Dave - this does indeed look pale, but there is a clearly demarcated broad costal stripe that is quite evident. I don't recall any of the specimens I have identified as Hoary having this feature, but to err on the side of caution I'll edit my records to indicate that they are determined on external characters only. You can treat them as you wish - there aren't many of them so it wont take long. Cheers, Barry

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  2. I agree with Barry about the costal stripe - certainly Barry's photo of Hoary looks unlike anything I've identified as Scarce, with the costal stripe almost non existant (I've never knowingly seen Hoary).
    Cheers
    George

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